A Christmas Surprise
by StarshipFarm
Summary: A Secret Santa gift for aegidis for RFSS 2015. A short story about a shared Christmas for Lest and Frey. I hope you enjoy it!


**A/N: Here's my gift for aegidis on Tumblr for RFSS 2015, I hope you like it! Have a wonderful holiday!**

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Lest awoke to the smell of cinnamon and pine wafting through his room. He opened up his eyes reluctantly, and saw two eyes staring back at him.

"Hey, Lest," Frey said, grinning. "Merry Christmas."

Lest sat up, returning her smile. "Merry Christmas to you, too. Isn't it a little early to be sneaking into my place?" Frey laughed and shook her head.

"Maybe. But I wanted to surprise you. Come into the kitchen when you're ready," she said with a wink, and then disappeared into the extra room that served as Lest's kitchen. Lest quickly dressed, and then followed her in.

"Oh, whoah!" he said, taking in the view in front of him. Frey stood behind a table covered in green boughs of holly and plates of a homemade breakfast. Lest couldn't help but let his jaw drop.

"Are those… cinnamon?" he asked, pointing at the pancakes. Frey nodded with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Yeah. You said they were your favorite, so I asked Arthur to find the spices for me. I'm not the best cook, but I hope you like them." She rubbed the back of her head with an awkward laugh. Lest walked over and squeezed her in a bear hug.

"Thanks, Frey. I'm sure I'll love them." Frey blushed, and then cleared her throat.

She asked, "Why don't you take a seat? I'm just going to clean things up, and then I'll come eat with you." Lest slid into a seat, and filled his plate with the array of different dishes that Frey had prepared. His eyes closed in bliss as he took his first bite.

"This is delicious, Frey! I thought you said you were a bad cook!" he said, taking another bite. Frey laughed from the other room.

"I got the recipes from Porco. He gave me a few tips on how to enhance the flavor. Some were more useful than others," she said, shrugging. Lest smiled.

"I'm sure. But really, these are great. Thanks so much for doing all this," he said, casting a glance towards Frey.

"It's nothing, really. I just wanted to make sure you had a nice Christmas," she said. She placed the last dishes in a soapy sink, and then joined Lest at the table. He stared at her expectantly as she munched on her food.

"Uh, Lest?" she asked finally, startling him.

"Yeah, Frey?" he asked, cocking his head.

"You're staring," she said, giving him a half-grin. Lest blushed.

"Oh, uh, I guess I'm just excited for you to finish. I have another surprise for you. Uh, a couple, actually," he said, coughing slightly. Frey's eyes widened.

"Really? That's really sweet of you, Lest," she said, and then beamed.

"I have a present for you, can I give it to you now?" she asked eagerly. Lest paused, and then shook his head. Frey looked at him in confusion.

"No? Why not?" she asked, and Lest just smiled.

"I have a gift for you, too, and I thought we might exchange them later. Is that okay?" he asked, and Frey nodded.

"Yeah, that's great," she said. She finished up the rest of her meal quickly, and then insisted on helping Lest clean up the leftovers. She splashed Lest with the freezing water as they worked to clean the dishes, and soon, the two were drenched and shivering.

"I'm going to go change. I'll meet you in the square at 15 hundred hours, okay?" Lest asked, his clothes dripping. Frey squeezed out one of her pigtails.

"Yeah, I'll meet you then. Should I bring my gift?" she asked. Lest nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be good. And make sure you wear good walking shoes, I want to take you to a place that I think you'll really like, but you can't get there by airship," he explained, and then took off at a jog. Frey looked after him, confused.

A few hours later, the two were heading through Yokmir Forest dressed in dry clothing. Lest lead the way down a path that Frey had never even seen before, let alone explored.

"Do you wander off the path often, Lest?" she asked quizzically. He shook his head.

"No, I actually found this place by accident. I had a rogue Wooly run this way, and before I knew it, we were in this really pretty clearing. Just wait until you see it!" he said, waving his arms around in excitement. Frey giggled.

"I bet it's amazing," she said, and then reached for Lest's hand. "Actually, I'm sure it will be." Lest ducked his head sheepishly.

"Oh, well- I'm glad you think so," he stammered. Frey laughed.

The two walked for well over an hour, and they reached the clearing as the sun began to touch the horizon. Lest stopped Frey as they approached the opening.

"Close your eyes, okay, Frey?" he asked, and Frey looked at him in confusion.

"Close my eyes? If you say so." Frey obeyed, and held out a hand.

"Lead away, Lest," she said, and Lest took her hand in his own. He lead her to the center of the clearing, and then let go of her hand as he ran to make several last-minute adjustments.

"Okay, Frey! Open your eyes!" he called, and Frey did so with a gasp.

A beautiful clearing lay before her, filled with countless candles hung up from trees and placed on the ground. The whole space seemed to be glowing with candlelight, and Frey thought that she had never seen anything quite so beautiful.

"Oh, Lest…" she murmured, looking around her. Lest smiled shyly.

"So you like it?" he asked nervously. Frey nodded, entranced.

"How were you even able to do this?" she asked, and Lest glanced towards a fire spirit drifting around through the trees.

"I had a little bit of help. Oh, and I hope you don't mind some of Porco's cooking. It's more of a picnic than a holiday dinner, but I hope you like it anyways," he said, gesturing to a red blanket off to the side. Frey looked and saw a near-feast set out, complete with a roasted fowl and several other dishes.

"Sheesh, Lest," she said, blushing, "I thought my gift was going to be the best, but you're showing me up big time!"

Lest shook his head with a grin. "Having you as my closest friend is the best gift anyone could ask for. I'm just glad to have you with me today."

Frey walked over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm glad I'm with you, too." Lest went beet red, and gestured lamely towards the picnic blanket. The two sat down and began to eat.

"Lest, can I give you my gift now?" she asked after they had finished. Lest glanced at her.

"Okay, that sounds good. Why don't we do a trade? I'll give you mine, you give me yours," he said, digging around in his pocket. Frey nodded with a smile.

"Okay, we'll open them together." They exchanged their packages, both of them small boxes of slightly different colors and shapes.

"On three," Frey said. Lest nodded.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Inside both boxes lay engagement bands of silver. Frey put a hand up to her mouth, and Lest let out a surprised gasp.

"Well, at least we're on the same page, then," joked Lest. Frey laughed, and then Lest joined her. They laughed for longer than either of them thought possible.

"Will you marry me, Lest?" she asked finally, wiping tears from her eyes. "I mean, I'm guessing you will, but I want to ask. Do you really want to marry me?" Lest held her hand in his, and then pressed his lips to hers in a brief kiss.

"Yeah. I really do."


End file.
